Clip clinching tool



April 3, 1956 w. D. CHILTON 2,740,514

CLIP CLINCHING TOOL Original Filed Feb. 7, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet l Snnentor attorneys April 3, 1956 w. D. CHILTON 2,740,514

CLIP CLINCHING TOOL Original Filed Feb. 7, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 EIIHIIIIZ//% Bu W? (Ittornegs rates Patent- Fatented Apr. 3, 1956 CLIP CLINCHING TOOL William D. Chilton, Royalfiak, Mich., assignor to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich, a corporation of Delaware Original application February 7, 1949, Serial No. 74,956, now. Patent .No. 2,647,814, dated August 4, 1953. Divided and this application Novembert5, 1952; Serial No. 318,917 j 3 Claims. (Cl. 193 -38) This invention relates to apparatus for applying a band or clip'about' the girth of a wire'or other elongated work piece, or bundle of such work pieces, ,andis particularly adapted for binding together adjacent wires-for example adjacent sections of wire seat springs. The present'application is a division of my application Serial No. 74,956 entitled Clip clinching Tool, filed February 7, 1949; no Patent No; 2,647,814.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a relatively light weight, power operated, hand portable tool 'inwhich the steps of feeding a pre-formed U-shaped clip; grasping the wires or other elements to be bound Figure 7 "isan enlarged perspective view of annuclinched. U-shaped sheet metal clip of well-known form and representative of the type which the .toolofmy invention is designed to clinch around one or a bundlerof wires or the like;

Theyembodiinent of the toolshown in the drawings comprises a frame 1 including a cylinder 2 closed atone end 3 and connected at its opposite end to a bifurcated or yoke-shapedhead 4'. The base 5 of the yoke-shapedhead has an aperture 6 in line with the bore 7 ofthe cylinder'2 and supports spaced arms or plates- 8 and 9 terminating in 'noseportions 10 and 11 having pockets or notches 12 and 13, respectively, for receiving work of elongated section such as wires14 and 15. v Pivotallyswingable between the plates 8 and 9 about pivotssuch as bolts 16 and 17' are a pair of oppositely disposed jaws in the form ofrockers-ISand 19 which. ex.- tend generally longitudinally with respect to thecylinder 2'. The hook-shaped-outerends 2t and 21 of the rockers overlap when brought together, their inwardly curved faces 22 and 23 cooperating with each other in that position to form a female die or anvil, such that when a preformed U-shaped clip 24 (Figure 7) is forced legs fore.-

and clinching the clip thereabout are carried .out auto- 1 matically in a single continuous. rapid operation requir': 1

ing the use of only one hand of the operator. I

Another object of the invention is to'provide'a power operated clip clinching tool wherein, during, each clip clinching operation, part of the power is employed'to provide a continuously directed force to move theclip into the clinching'die and the remainder of the power is employed to effect an intermittent or hammering force, on the clip, the magnitude of the latter force increasing progressively as the movement of the clip decreases in reaching its final clinched position.

Still another object of the invention is to' provide a clip clinching tool having a clip magazine attached thereto and adapted to serve as a tool supporting hanger, the magazine being so constructed as'to permit substantially'unrestrained maneuvering of the tooldu'ring use without interfering with the feed'of clipsthereinto.

Still. another object of'the invention is to provide' a tool for clinching pre-formed U-shaped clips of the type having alternately toothed arms; including aclip receiv-' ing throat, means. for yieldably retaining a "clip therein readyvforuse, and means insuring proper alignrnentof the clipduring its passage from the throat to 'a clinching anvil.

Other;objects relate to the structural organization and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed;

ln thezaccompanying drawingsx Figure 1 is a top-plan view of the tool embodying" my invention, with'portions broken away and in section, and showing the parts in clip clinching position.

Figure-2 is an enlarged sectional view of the cylinder end of the tool taken substantially on line 22 of Figure 1, except that the air control valve and associated elements at that end of thetool are shown rotated 56 from their true position.

Figure 3 is an enlarged view of the jaw end of the tool similar tothat of Figure 1 except with the parts in position to begin a clip clinching operation.

Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially on line 4-4 of Figure 5.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary side view of the jaw end of the tool, with portions broken away and in section and showing the parts in clip clinching relation as in Figure-1.

Figure 6 is a detail sectional view of the feedmagazine takerrsubs'tantially on line 6'6 of'Figure .5."

most'thereinto its legs 25 and 26 are bentaaroundathe wires 14, 15' inthe manner illustrated at 25 and 26' in Figure 5. The inner ends of the rockers 18 and 19 carry rollers 2'7 and 28 and are biased toward each other-by springs 29 and 30 which are tensioned betweenpins. 3'1, 32 and 33,34-"secured to'the rockers. and the plate'.9, reespectively. Slots 35 and36 are provided in the platei9 to allow clearance for movement of the pins 33and 34 accompanying swinging of the rockers.

, Extending between the plates Sand 9 are spaced wall memb'ers'37 and 38for supporting the clip 24- to be clinchedf An opening 39' is provided in the plate .8, through which clips to be clinched may singly'pass into the space between the wall members 37 and 38 during operation ofthe tool. The wall members 37- and 38 de fine'the lateral extremities of a clip loading-statiomthe forward end of which is normallyclosed byapair of gates or doors 40' and 41pivotally carried by pins42 and-43. T o retain the doors 4t) and 41in theirclosed positionsas shown in Figure 3, spiralsprings 44 and 45 are provided which engage slotted ends of the pins 42 and 43 and are anchored tothe' plate'9 as by pins 46 and .47. The ,doors 40'and define the forward extremities of the clip load? ing station and serve to properly position the clip, .24 therein'preliminary to forcingthe same towardthe outer ends "20 and 21 of the rockers. A small permanent mag net 49'projects through the plate 9 between the wall Jmem-. bers 37'and 38and serves to temporarily retain the clip 24' andinsure its-being fully seated against the plate 9. inthe loading station prior to beginning its passage.forwardly to the anvil.

The spiral spring 44- and 45 allow thedoors 40 and 41 to open by swinging forwardly when force is applied to the clip 24 to move it toward the anviLand'in their. open position these doors form a continuation of-the wall. members'37 and 38 for guiding the clip in its passage The oppositely disposed faces 50 and 51 rearwardly ad-. jacent the inwardly curved anvil'forming faces 22an'd 23 on the rockers 18"and19"cooperate witheach other member 62 is sliclably guided by the plates :8 ands9 in'onei planeand by the .wall members 37 and38 in the :plane at right angles theretor, Rearwardlyof its-nosei'portion 63'; member 62v isxprovided.withacamsurfaces 64tand. 65 projectingfrom its opposite sides for "engaginggand 3 spreading apart the rollers 27 and 28 during forward movement of the member 62, whereby the hook-shaped outer ends and 21 of the rockers are forced together to form an anvil and receive the clip as it is forced therematic valve mechanism 69, through which the pressure fluid is alternately .admitted to opposite ends of the hammer cylinder 67 to effect the reciprocation of the plunger 68, is secured to the rear end of cylinder 67 by a longitudinally apertured cap 70 which pilots the hammer device in the bore 7 of the enclosing cylinder 2. A flexible packing 51-carried by the cap 70 provides a pressure seal between the cap and the cylinder bore 7. 72 indicates means such as a coil spring for biasing the percussive hammer (piston 66) toward the rear end 3 of the cylinder 2.

The clip pusher member 62 also constitutes the striker portion of the percussive hammer. its rear end is formed with the usual tapered shank which extends into the bore of the hammer cylinder 67 through a correspondingly taperedthrust supporting liner A longitudinally split collar 82 held together by an encircling snap ring 83 is provided for loosely securing the plungerend-wise in the hammer cylinder 67. lnturned flanges 84 and 85 at opposite ends of this collar engage peripheral grooves 86 and 87 on the cylinder 67 and forwardly of the tapered shank 80 on the pusher member 62. The grooves $6 and 87 are slightly wider than the thickness of the flanges 84 and 85 to provide the pusher member 62 with sufficient longitudinal freedom of movement relative to the hammer piston 67 for maximum transmission of the plunger impacts to the clip'24 being clinched. A

As stated earlier, the plates 8 and 9 of the head 4 serve to guidethe pusher member 62 during its sliding movements, toward and away from the anvil. Adjacent their juncture with the base 5 of the head the opposing inner faces 90 and 91 of these plates are counterbored, as shown at 92 and 93 in Figures 4 and 5, to provide clearance for the collar 82 and the forward end of the hammer cylinder 67 during their movements with the pusher member 62. At the forward end of this counterbore are semi-circular abutments 94 and 95 on the plates 8 and 9 (formed as by drilling aligned holes 96 and 97 through the plates at that point). In the event the tool is operated without being loaded with a clip to be clinched, pins 98 and 99 which are carried by the pusher member 62 engage these abutments, thereby limiting the forward travel of the pusher member and preventing its nose portion 63 from striking the anvil forming faces 22 and 23 of the rockers.

The rear end 3 of the cylinder 2 is provided with inlet and exhaust passageways 112 and 113 respectively which are in alternate communication with the interior of the bore 7 of cylinder 2 through a conventional slide valve 114 and a common inlet and exhaust passage 115. Fluid, for example, air supplied under pressure through a hose 116 connected to the inlet passage 112, urges the valve 114 upwardly from its position as shown in Figure 2 to a position blocking communication between the inlet passage 112 and passage and opening communication between exhaust passage 113 and passage 115, all in a manner which will be readily understood.

The valve 114 bears at its upper end against the rear arm 127 of a bell crank 128. This bell crank is journaled in a cored passage extending longitudinally through the wall of cylinder 2 and is provided at its forward end with the finger operated control lever 129, by depressing which the operator may force the valve 114 downwardly to operate the tool. A dog 130 is secured to the bell crank 128 in proper angular relation with the arm 127 so as to strike the outer surface of the cylinder 2 when the valve 114 is in its uppermost or exhaust position.

Secured to the plate 8 of the yoke-shaped head 4, as by the bolts 16 and 17 about which the rockers 18 and 19 are pivoted, is a feed magazine 141. This magazine comprises a flexible monorail or band 142 made of spring steel or equivalent material. Adjacent one edge 143 of the band are secured a succession of L-section brackets 144, interspaced from each other as indicated at 145. One leg 146 of each bracket 144 is spaced from one side 147 of the band, and the adjoining other leg 148 extends transversely thereto in spaced relation from the edge 149 of the band. A similarly shaped but heavier constructed bracket 150 connects one end of the band to the plate 8 by the bolts 16 and 17 as aforesaid. U-shaped clips 24 straddle the'edge 149 of the band with one of their legs, either 25 or 26, disposed between the band and the bracket leg 146, as indicated in dotted lines in Figure 6. During operation of the tool, clips are stacked in this manner in end-toend relation along the band and fed by gravity through the opening 39 to the loading station defined by the wall members 37 and 38 between the plates 8 and 9 of the tool head 4. The upper end (not shown) of the band 142 may be suspended from a fixed support and the magazine 141 be used to support the weight of the tool during operation. Further, the upper end of the band may be continuously fed with clips from a hopper. The interspacing of the-brackets 144 preserves the flexibility of the band 142, thereby allowing thetool to be maneuvered as necessary relative to the workduring operation.

The operation of the tool to clinch a clip 24 about wires 14 and 15 or other work will now be described. With finger pressure released from the lever 129 the valve 114 automatically rises due to air pressure in the line 116 to open the rear end of the cylinder 2 to atmosphere through the exhaust passage 113, and the retracting spring 72 thereupon withdraws the percussive hammer piston 66 and its attached pusher member 62 toward the rear end 3 of the cylinder 2 until the clip engaging nose portion 63 is disposed just rearwardly of the wall members 37 and 38. The withdrawal of the cam surfaces 64 and 65 carried by the clip pusher member 62 allows the springs 29 and 36 to draw the rollers 27 and 23 toward each other and separate the anvil forming hookshaped ends 20 and 21 of the rockers 18 and 19. The wires 14 and 15 may then be engaged in the notches 12 and 13 of the plates 8 and 9 ready for a clinching operation.

, A clip 24 will then drop by gravityfrom the feed magazine 141 into the space between the Wall members 37 and 38 and be retained fully seated therein by the magnet 49. The doors 40 and 41, being urged by their springs 44 and 45, will be in their normally closed positions (as shown in Figure 3) and retain the clip 24 uprightly in loosely abutting relation with pusher member nose portion 63.

The operator then by depressing the finger lever 129 moves the valve 114 downwardly to close olf the exhaust passage and open the cylinder to air under pressure from the line 116 through the inlet passage 112 and the common passage 115. As pressure builds up in the cylinder bore 7 behind the percussive hammer piston 66, the latter is driven forward against its retracting spring 72, moving the clip pusher member 62 forwardly to force the clip 24 legs foremost through the doors 40 and 41 and toward the hooked shaped rocker ends 20 and 21. With continued travel of the clip pusher member 62 in this direction, its cam surfaces 64 and 6S engage the rollers 27 and 23, spreading them apart and swinging the hook-shaped ends 20 and 21 of the rockers 18 and 19 into anvil forming relation about the wires 14 and 15.

In addition to the progressive forward movement of the piston 66, the pressurizing of the rear end of the cylinder 2 causes the plunger 68 to reciprocate in the percussive hammer cylinder 67 and deliver striking blows to the pusher member 62. Simultaneously with its forward movement, the clip pusher member transmits the impacts delivered to it by the plunger 68 to the clip 24. The pressure within the rear end of the cylinder 2 is relatively low at the beginning of the operation and increases gradually as the retracting spring 72 is compressed during the forward movement of the piston 66 and clip pusher member 62, hence the intensity of the blows delivered to the clip 24 increases to its maximum when the clip reaches the solid backing afforded by the anvil. A thorough set of the clip legs 25' and 26' around the wires 14 and 15 is thereby finally obtained with the employment of the full power capacity of the tool. Such a permanent set is desired to prevent any tendency of the legs of the clip to unwind due to natural resilience when the clip pusher member is withdrawn.

A tool constructed as above described has proved highly satisfactory in production assembling operations on automobile seat springs wherein the various spring elements must be securely tied together with clips at widely different points requiring considerable maneuvering of the clip feeding and clinching means. By reason of its relatively light weight and generally elongated shape, my tool may be readily maneuvered to diflerent locations about the work and its operation controlled using only one hand of the operator. When employed in this type of work by an operator of no unusual skill, my tool enables clinching from 40 to 50 clips per minute, which is several times the rate practical with any other tool of similar purpose.

Its advantageous use in seat spring assembling is mentioned merely by way of example. Obviously the tool is suitable for a wide variety of purposes where it is desired to clinch the legs of a pre-formed U-shaped member 40 about a work piece of elongated section.

The flexible magazine assures a continuous supply of clips during operation while still permitting extensive maneuvering of the tool relative to the work.

I claim:

1. A flexible chute for delivering U-shaped articles in aligned relation between two relatively movable points, comprising a flexible band connecting said points, a plurality of article guiding members in interspaced relation along said band and separately secured thereto, said members being otherwise disconnected from each other and having adjoining portions spaced from one edge and one side of the band, respectively.

2. A flexible chute for conducting U-shaped clips from a stationary support to a movable clinching tool, comprising a flexible band for interconnecting the support and the tool, a series of clip guiding brackets spaced longitudinally from each other along the length of said band and individually secured thereto, said brackets being otherwise disconnected from each other and generally L-shaped in section with one leg of the L disposed opposite and spaced from one side face of the band and the other leg of the L disposed opposite and spaced from one edge of the band.

3. A flexible chute for conducting articles having generally U-shaped sections from one point to a second relatively movable point, comprising a flexible band connecting said points, a plurality of article guiding members in interspaced relation along said band and individually secured thereto, said members having relative freedom of movement between each other during flexure of the band and each including adjoining portions spaced from one edge and one side of the band, respectively, to accommodate passage of the adjacent legs of the article U-shaped sections between said member portions and the band.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 453,175 Haskins May 26, 1891 547,756 Kline Oct. 8, 1895 790,494 Foss May 23, 1905 2,208,819 Smith July 23, 1940 2,396,356 Wickens Mar. 12, 1946 2,523,388 Natzke et a1. Sept. 26, 1950 

